Adjustable slitter knife mounting



Nov. 19, 1968 E. D. SPANGLER ADJUSTABLE SLITTER KNIFE MOUNTING Filed May 11, 1966 INVENTOR. EARL D. SPANGL ER 9W4;

Ill l l A Harney United States Patent 3,411,392 ADJUSTABLE SLITTER KNIFE MOUNTING Earl D. Spangler, Gary, Ind., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 11, 1966, Ser. No. 549,348 4 Claims. (Cl. 83-664) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Slitting apparatus comprising slitter knives adjustably mounted in an axial direction on the arbors of the slitting apparatus. The axial operating positions of the slitter knives may be changed without removing either the slitter knives or the spacer sleeves.

This invention relates to slitters for cutting and edgetrimming strip steel or other material as it travels from an uncoiler. As indicated, it relates more particularly to an improved mounting for slitter knives which facilitates their adjustment in an axial direction on the arbors of a slitter.

Shearing knives for trimming the edges of strip material and for slitting it along lines between its edges are customarily arranged in pairs on upper and lower arbors. The knives are keyed on the arbors for rotation therewith and to provide for their axial movement to operating positions which are determined according to one common construction by spacer sleeves and shims that are alsokeyed on the arbors. In this type of slitter, the spacer sleeves, knives and shims are assembled on the arbors in a horizontal stack which is clamped against axial movement between a clamping shoulder on one end of the arbor and a clamping nut on the other end thereof. Axial adjustment of the operating positions of the knives requires removal of the clamping nut so that the stacked assembly of knives and spacer sleeves may be taken apart for the removal or addition of such shims as may be needed. A knife adjustment of this character is a tedious and time-consuming task that takes the slitter out of operation and thus reduces production of coiled strip. 7

The problem of adjusting the axial operating positions of slitter knives is further complicated in at least one form of slitter apparatus by the fact that opposite ends of the arbors are respectively supported in stationary and movable housings. The arbor end on which the clamping nut is threaded is supported in the movable housing, while the other end of the arbor to which the rotary driving mechanism is coupled is supported in the stationary housing. This arrangement requires retraction of the movable housing and dismantling of the bearing support for the arbor therein in order that the clamping nut may be removed and adjustment of the position of a slitter knife may be made as described above.

This invention accordingly has as one of its principal objects the provision of an improved mounting for slitter knives which retains all of the advantages of conventional mountings of the type described above, but which enables adjustment of the axial operating positions of the slitter knives on their respective arbors without thenecessity of disassembling the stacked arrangement of spacer sleeves and knives thereon. For this purpose, the invention contemplates spacer sleeves which are keyedon the slitter arbors in the conventional fashion, but have adjusting nuts threaded on opposite ends thereof so that their effective lengths may be changed to thereby adjust the axial operating positions of the slitter knives without removing either the slitter knives or the spacer sleeves.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

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FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a slitter knife assembly in which fragmentary parts thereof are shown in section along a vertical plane extending centrally of the slitter arbors; and

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 11-11 of the drawings.

The drawings show the usual arrangement in which the upper and lower arbors 1 of a slitter have the same construction and have their opposite ends rotatably supported by bearings in a fixed housing 2 and a movable housing 3. The base 4 of the movable housing 3 is supported on a trackway 5 for guided movement in an axial direction toward and away from the arbors 1. At the stationary housing 2 the ends of the arbors 1 are con nected by couplings 6 to the mill drive for rotating the arbors 1. Shearing knives 7 arranged in pairs are keyed on the arbors 1 in a manner to be described. The end pairs of knives 7 adjacent the housings 2 and 3 are edgetrim ming knives and the intermediate pair of knives 7 operates to slit strip traveling through the apparatus into two portions. The knives 7 are keyed on the arbors 1 for rotation therewith by keys 8 that extend along the length of each arbor and fit in keyways formed in the knives 7. The axial spacing of the knives 7 is determined by spacer sleeves 9 on opposite sides of each knife and by shims 10 that are inserted where needed between the knives and the spacer sleeves, which are also keyed on the arbors 1.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, the spacer sleeves 9 have nuts 11 threaded on opposite ends thereof which are operative upon rotation thereof to adjust the effective length of the sleeve on which they are mounted. The knives 7, sleeves 9 with spacing nuts 11 threaded thereon, and shims 10 are assembled in stacked relation on the arbors 1 by sliding them axially over the keys 8. When assembled in this manner the adjusting nuts 11 either bear directly against the knives 7 or against spacing shims 10.

As in conventional constructions, each assembly of knives 7 and spacer sleeves on opposite sides thereof is clamped against axial movement on the arbors 1 between a shoulder 12 on the arbor 1 adjacent the fixed housing 2 and a clamping nut 13 which is threaded'on the other end 14 of the arbor 1 adjacent the movable housing 3. Each of the nuts 13 and 11 is provided with radially extending openings 15 for engagement with and rotation by a spanner wrench.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the provision of the adjusting nuts 11 on the spacer sleeves 9 enables axial adjustment of the position of the knives 7 without dismantling any of the parts assembled on the arbors 1. For this purpose, it is only necessary to loosen the clamping nut 13 and then rotate the nuts 15 on opposite sides of one of the knives 7 to adjust the axial position of such knife. Attention is particularly directedto the fact that this adjustment does not require retraction of the housing 3 and can accordingly be made in a shorter period of time compared to that previously required.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a slitter for trimming the edges of and for cutting metal strip, an adjustable slitter knife mounting comprising, the combination with .an arbor, a plurality of knives spaced axially along said arbor, spacer sleeves on opposite sides of each of said knives, and key means conmeeting said knives and sleeves to said arbor for.rotation therewith and for axial adjusting movement along the length thereof, of a pair of clamping nuts on opposite sides of each knife for holding engagement therewith,

said nuts respectively having a threaded connection on an adjacent end of the said spacer sleeves on opposite sides of said knife so that rotation thereof is effective to adjust their relative positions in an axial direction to thereby adjust the axial position of the slitter knife therebetween.

2. Slitter apparatus as defined in claim 1 characterized by the provision of shims arranged between said adjusting nuts and said knives.

3. Slitter apparatus as defined in claim 1 characterized by the provision of means including a holding nut threaded on the end of said arbor for holding said spacer sleeves and knives against axial movement relative thereto.

4. In a slitter for strip material, the combination with an arbor and slitter knives keyed thereon at spaced intervals along the length thereof, of means for adjusting the relative axial positions of said knives on said arbor and holding them against axial movement with respect thereto comprising spacer sleeves on said arbor respectively arranged on opposite sides of each of said knives,

each of said sleeves being movable axially on said arbor and having a length such that its ends respectively are spaced axially from an adjacent one of said knives to provide for axial movement of said one knife relative thereto, means including an adjusting nut threaded on each end of said sleeves for holding engagement with an adjacent knife, said nuts being operative upon rotation thereof to vary the effective length of said spacer sleeves and thereby the axial positions of the said knife held thereby, and a nut threaded on one end of said arbor for holding said spacer sleeves and knives against axial movement on said arbor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner. 

